The unstable weather situation with snow down to lower altitudes prompted OC president Chantal Mayor to switch to the 110 km alternative route less than 24 hours before the start (instead of 141 km over the Chaschauna Pass), which remains in the Lower Engadine with a turning point in Zuoz and avoids the very high mountains. The persistent rainfall on Saturday morning, cool temperatures, wafts of mist and the white-powdered mountain peaks around Scuol proved Mayor right.

Most of the riders welcomed the decision. The route change also had little impact on the battle at the front, proving once again that it's not the route but the riders that make the race tough. Until before S-chanf, there was a leading group of eight riders with all the favorites, who had already clearly pulled away from the rest. Among them were the young Grisons riders Fadri Barandun from Samedan and Janis Baumann from Igis. Record winner Urs Huber in particular kept pushing the pace, but Hansueli Stauffer and Andreas Seewald also took part in the lead work.

Preliminary decision in the climb to the mountain prize

The preliminary decision was made at S-chanf in the main climb to the mountain prize below Alp Griatschouls at 2044 meters above sea level. Seewald and Stauffer were able to pull away and continuously extended their lead to the finish. Behind them, Janis Baumann and Urs Huber tried to close the gap. On the climb to Lavin, Huber managed to pull away from Baumann and took the remaining podium place. He said self-critically at the finish: "I wasn't ready on the climb to the mountain prize when Seewald and Stauffer pulled away. After that, I concentrated on third place, which I had set as my goal."

"I've experienced worse weather. I wrapped up very thick for racing conditions and took extra care on the slippery descents because I didn't want to crash a week before the World Championships," explained winner Seewald. And added that he found the alternative course very cool overall. Stauffer pushed him to the limit twice: At the mountain prize and shortly before the finish.

When asked about this, Hansueli Stauffer couldn't help but laugh at the finish. "I really wanted to win the mountain prize - and I lost to Seewald by a wafer-thin margin the first time. After that, we made common cause to cover the rest of the course with as little effort as possible in view of the World Championships." Seewald then beat him again at the end. But if this order is repeated at the World Championships, he would be super happy, said Stauffer, who had put on a total of five layers of clothing to avoid catching a cold.

Janis Baumann finished fourth: "The cold sapped my energy as the distance increased. When Huber attacked after Lavin, I literally stood still." Fifth-placed Fadri Barandun also reached the finish mentally empty. He said: "I lost my grandmother last week. That bothered me more today than I initially wanted to admit."

Surprise winner from Chur

In the women's race, Deborah Inauen crossed the finish line as the winner and surprised herself: "I didn't expect that," said the woman from Chur. But when the lead bike kept riding in front of her, she believed more and more in her exploit. "I didn't know the route. That made things exciting right to the end."

In the end, OC President Chantal Mayor was also satisfied: "No serious accidents and 1411 starters despite the bad weather make me optimistic." Mayor was also very pleased with something else: "We had difficult conditions and everyone stood together and helped to make the event a success." First and foremost Claudio Duschletta, the former OC President, who designed the alternative route in 2020 together with Janett Caviezel, who rode himself and came second in his category, as well as Claudio Daguati and Flurin Bezzola.

Results

Men (110 km)

1. Andreas Seewald (De) 4:25:55.
2. Hansueli Stauffer (Sigriswil) 0:04.
3. Urs Huber (Mettmenstetten) 6:05.
4. Janis Baumann (Igis) 10:25.
5. Fadri Barandun (Samedan) 12:48.
6. Daniel Widmer (Mühlrüti) 14:30.
7. Matthias Alberti (De) 15:12.
8. Simon Hellmüller (Winterthur) 19:41.
9. André Kurmann (Willisau) 22:55.
10. Nils Landenberger (Frenkendorf) 23:59.

Women (110 km)

1. Deborah Inauen (Chur) 5:57:10.
2. Rahel Blättler (Scuol) 3:41.
3. Claudia Kuratli (Henau) 4:24.

The route of the National Park Bike Marathon, which will be held for the 24th time in 2025, rides from Scuol through the Val S-charl, past the God da Tamangur Swiss stone pine forest to Alp Astras and on via a flow trail over the Pass da Costainas (2,251 m). Then on to Alp Champatsch and along the forest path to Lü and Tschierv. From Tschierv there is a long stretch through the forest to Valchava before the long ascent to Döss Radond (2,234 m). The gravel road then rides into the picturesque Val Mora with its famous singletrail to the Italian border. After the border, the trail rides to Lago di San Giacomo di Fraele and on over the Alpisella (2,299 m) to Livigno. From Livigno, a very steep ascent leads to the top of the tour to the Chaschauna Pass (2,694 m), from where a perfectly groomed single trail rides to Alp Champatsch. From S-chanf, the "easiest part" of the tour begins through the Lower Engadin villages past Zernez, through Susch, Lavin, Guarda and Ftan back to Scuol. Until 2020, the 141 km National Park Bike Marathon was the longest stage in the national Bike Marathon Classics race series.

bike-marathon.com